Days after the incident in the Hall of the Sleeping Flame, life in the Lotus Blossom Sect continued as usual. For the common disciples, training meant repeating basic techniques, meditating for hours, and competing in ridiculous duels for a few pills.
But for Li Wei, each day was one more move on an invisible chessboard.
He had started using the Mental Silk technique in secret, subtly manipulating the emotions of his more impulsive peers, encouraging internal feuds in the pavilion, and diverting resources from one side to another with rumors disguised as truths.
He didn't need to lift a finger to begin his climb.
But what he didn't know was that his next step wouldn't be his to take... but would come from someone much higher up.
The arrival was so abrupt that even the sect elders came out of their meditation chambers.
A spiritual vessel descended from the heavens: a dragon carved from jade and surrounded by golden fire. The air around it grew heavy, charged with spiritual pressure so dense that even the core disciples trembled.
From the floating deck, a slender figure descended, dressed in light armor with silver scales on her wrists. Her hair was red like an angry flame, and her golden eyes looked down on everyone with arrogance.
Ryuna, the youngest daughter of the Sky Dragon Clan.
A visitor.
A threat.
An opportunity.
"What is a noble from the Dragon Clan doing in our sect?" an elder asked, bowing his head slightly.
"My master sent me to deliver a letter to the Patriarch," she replied in a clear voice, showing no respect. "And I'll take the opportunity to stay for a few days. I'm interested to see if this 'sect of flowers' has anything of interest."
Her words landed like stones.
But no one dared to reply. Dragon blood was not something to be offended without consequences.
Li Wei watched from a distance. Hidden behind a pillar, he calculated.
A dragon... noble blood. Arrogant, of course. She's used to giving orders, not listening. The kind of woman who only respects what she can't understand or dominate.
And then he smiled.
Perfect.
Fate was pushing him faster than he expected.
The next day, an internal tournament was announced to impress the noble visitor. Xue Lan would be the main judge, and Ryuna... would observe and choose a disciple to train with her for a week as a show of "cultural exchange."
A perfect opportunity for everyone. A deadly trap for anyone who humiliated themselves.
Li Wei, of course, was not invited. He was an outer disciple, still without merit. But that was never an obstacle.
In the evening, he planted a small trap in the registration lot: a mix of stimulating powder and emotional herb that would cause several of the registered participants to lose control during the exhibition.
Not enough to kill them, of course, he thought. Just enough to make them expose themselves as idiots in front of a dragon who despises emotional weakness.
And so, on the day of the tournament, several of the most arrogant disciples began to act with excessive emotion: shouting, overexerting their qi, losing control of their techniques. One even burst into tears after losing a simple duel.
Ryuna's frown deepened with each passing moment.
Until she rose from her seat on the observation terrace and said, "This is boring. Is this all you have?"
Xue Lan's eyes narrowed, annoyed. But then, a figure walked to the center of the training field.
Li Wei.
"You?" Xue Lan murmured from above.
"Who is that?" Ryuna asked.
"A nobody," Xue Lan replied with a grimace.
"And why does he have that smile?"
Indeed, Li Wei walked with the expression of someone who had already won.
He bowed elegantly and raised his voice: "I am Li Wei, an outer disciple. I do not come to demonstrate strength, for I have little of it. But I offer myself as an opponent to anyone who desires a battle... with strategy."
The silence was absolute.
"What does that mean?" Ryuna asked, intrigued.
"It means I won't use force. Only my mind. A test of will, deception, and adaptation. If I lose, I will retire forever. If I win... I ask for a conversation with you, noble Ryuna."
The dragoness looked at him as if analyzing an insect. But her gaze... was not one of contempt.
It was one of curiosity.
"I accept."
A high-level young man accepted the challenge, thinking it would be easy.
Five minutes later, he was sprawled on the ground, his weapon tangled between his legs, his mind confused after receiving a burst of hallucinations caused by the Mental Silk technique.
"What... what happened?"
Li Wei simply bowed and retreated in silence.
Ryuna stood up from her seat.
"I'll see you tonight," she said, without smiling. "Come to the west pavilion. I want to know how you did that."
And she left.
Xue Lan clenched her teeth.
What are you scheming, Li Wei?
That night, the west pavilion shone with soft lights.
Ryuna waited, seated with her arms crossed.
"You have an interesting name, for someone so fragile."
"And you have more fire in your eyes than in your lineage."
She raised an eyebrow. No one spoke to her like that.
"Don't you fear I will burn you for your words?"
"Why burn something that is just starting to interest you?"
A silence.
Then, a small laugh escaped her lips.
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
"No. I'm trying to make you remember me. The other is secondary."
Ryuna looked at him intently.
"You have a snake's tongue, but a hunter's gaze. I will allow you to stay close. For now. But if you play games with me, I will tear out your tongue."
Li Wei bowed his head. "A fair deal."
That night, nothing physical happened. But something deeper did: initial respect.
Ryuna, a dragon of proud blood, had found something she had never seen in a weak human: a mind that could challenge her fire.
And Li Wei... had taken the first step to win a second piece for his future empire.